County



C. A. W BURY.

BURSTING CHARGE FOR CONTAINERS IN DED TOBE EXPLODED AND PROCESS OF FORMING SAlD CHARGES.

APPLlCATION FILED AUG-4| I91].

1,809,558. Patented July 8, 1919.

W mmw 7 4 ing effect.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

CLIFFORD A. WOODBURY, OF MIDDLETOWNTOWNSHIP, DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYL- VANIA, ASSIGNOR TO E. I. DU PON T DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

BURSTING CHABGE FOR CONTAINERS INTENDED TO BE EXPLODED AND PROCESS5 OF FORMING SAID CHARGES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

Application filed August 4, 1917. Serial No. 184,492. 1

county of Delaware, and in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bursting Charges for Containers Intended to be EX- ploded and Processes of Forming Said Charges, and do hereby declare the following is a full, clear, and exact descrlptlon thereof. I

This invention relates to a bursting charge for containers intended to be exploded, such as shells, grenades, torpedoes, mines, etc., and its object is to provide such a bursting charge which shall have, among others, the advantages of rendering available new sources of raw material for bursting charges for high explosive contalners and of providing a process by which sald charge can be cast into said containers and there caused to solidify and completely fill the space provided for the charge, and to such ends the invention consists in 'a bursting charge for containers intended to be exploded, such as shells, grenades, torpedoes,

mines, etc., and the process of forming said charge. V

In the accompanying drawing the figure is an axial section of 'a shell containing a bursting charge embodying my invention.

The invention is capable of being carried out in different ways, but for the purpose of illustration only one form of the invention will be described herein. In .filling containers intended to be exploded, such as shells, grenades, torpedoes, mines, etc., with bursting charges, it is desirable to introduce the largest possible charge into a given space, so as to produce the maximum burst- Trinitrotoluol has heretofore been used to a very large extent, because, among other reasons, it has a relatively low melting point and is therefore easily melted and can be kept, melted while being introduced into the shell or other body and does not freeze or solidify until it has reached the final condition in which it .is to remain. The supply of trinitrotoluol, however, may not be adequate, and it is very desirable to render other materials available toreplacethe trinitrotoluol in whole or in part. I have discovered a,-new bursting charge for the said purpose, which is of igh-power;

is'safe for the purpose; and which bursting charge, though useful and available when introduced into the shell or other container in solid condition, has ingredients having melting points too high to permit such ingredients as a practical matter to be melted and castinto the shell. I have, therefore, invented a process by which the said ingredients can, in effect, become part of a molten mass of such low melting point as to be capable of bein successfully cast into a shell and which ciarge has such qualities that it is solidified; is highly explosive, and is easily detonated; and yet is relatively safe under all ordinary conditions other than detonation.

The trinitrotoluol used in my bursting charge may be either a crude product, such as obtained by direct nitration oftoluol, or a product obtained byrefining the crude product.

My new blasting charge consists of a mixture of trinitrotoluol, picric acid. and ammonium picrate.

This blasting charge can be detonated by ordinary commercial detonators and has an explosive force substantially equal to that of trinitrotoluol. I

In charging a shell, the ingredients may be pressed into the shell ina dry condition making a compact charge which is readily detonated by theusual primer. It is desirable, however, as above stated, to cast 'the charge into the shell in order to t the maximum possible weight of exploslve into the shell. The picric acid and the ammonium picrate, having melting points too high to permit them to be cast-under commercial conditions, I have as stated, invented a process by which the said ingredients can,

temperatures of from 80 to'90 C. approximately 50 parts of -picric-acid can be added to 50 parts of trinitrotoluol before a point mos es 7 is reached Where no further picric acid will cally, a shell body .1 having within it a dissolve in the melted trinitrotoluol. Y To the mixture thus obtained may then be added either picric acid or ammonium J picrate or both substances, keeping the temperature of the mixture well above its freez ing point. I

In case of adding further picric acid the amount that can be added can be varied within wide limits without seriously afl'ecting the casting properties. This additional picric acid I believe to remain in suspension in the liquid mixture of picric acid and trinitrotoluol.

On adding the ammonium picrate to the mixture of trinitrotoluol and picric acid, I I

believe the explosive to be carried in suspension in the liquid mixture of trinitrotoluol and picric acid. The percentage. of any one of the ingredients that may be added to the liquid mixture will necessarily vary, depending upon the fineness of the. explosive and somewhat upon the temperature at which the mixing is carriedpn. I

The following formulae are typical of' mixtures that can be used satisfactorily:

20% trinitrotoluol.

20% picric acid.

60% ammonium picrate.

33%70 trinitrotoluol. V

33%;70 picric acid.

33%% ammonium picrate.

25% trinitrotoluol.

% picric acid.

25% ammonium picrate.

50% trinitrotoluol.

25% picric acid. a

25% ammonium picrate.

In the figure of the accompanying drawmg I have shown, more or less diagrammativ bursting charge 2, such as I have described, and having a detonating fuse 3 containing a detonator for detonating the bursting charge.

By the term container as used in the claims is meant a container intended to be exploded, such as 'a shell, grenade, torpedo, mine, etc.

I claim: 1. IA bursting charge comprising trinitrotoluol, picric acid, and ammonium picrate.

2. A bursting charge comprising the combination of not more than 50% molten trinitrotoluol with picric acid.

3. Abursting charge comprising the combination of not more than 50% molten trinitrotoluol with picric acid and ammonium picrate. 1 I f 4. A bursting charge comprising the/combination of from 25% to 50% molten trinitrotoluol with from 75% to 50% pcric acid;

5. A-bursting charge comprisin a liquid containing trl'nitrotoluol having picric acid and ammonium picrate held in suspension therein.

6. A bursting charge comprising trinitrotoluol and ammonium picrate.

7. A bursting charge comprising a liquid containing trinitrotoluolhav'ing ammonium picrate held in-suspension therein.

8. A bursting harge comprising a liquid containing trinitrotoluol having picric acid dissolved therein, and picric acid and ammonium picrate held in suspension therein.

9 A bursting charge comprising-20% to 50% trinitrotoluene,,20% to 50% picric acid and 60% to 25%ammoniumpicrate.

In testimony that .I claim the foregoing Ihave hereunto set my hand.

VCLIIIFFOBID WOODBURY. 

